The Marion High School JROTC cadets recently traveled to Kentucky to compete in the U.S. Army Cadet Command’s 7th Brigade Championship, facing off against the very best teams from Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and Indiana.
Cadet Sgt. Maj. Justin Peters, a senior, reached the top 10 in the high-pressure knockout drill competition. In this event, cadets take to the drill floor to execute commands that are given, under the watchful eye of graders looking for the slightest of imperfections in the movement of the cadets. Any infraction results in a tap on the shoulder, signaling that the cadet is knocked out (removed) from the competition. As the field becomes smaller, the drill sergeants call the commands more quickly and close in on the field, adding even more pressure.
Marion High School JROTC Cadet Justin Peters accepts his 10th place award for the high-pressure Knockout drill competition on March 14, 2026, at the 7th Brigade Championship in Kentucky.
The MHS JROTC drill and color guard was led by Cadet. Lt. Col. Lilly Carter, a senior and the Cadet Battalion Commander. The team competed well against an extremely talented field but fell short of a top-three finish.
“This was my last drill competition, and that fact makes me sad,” she said, “but I really like seeing how the team came together over the season.”
The Brigade Championship brings the drill and color guard season to a close for this school year.
Notable achievements from the also season include:
March 2 - Ohio Valley Regional Drill Championship in Shepherdsville, Ky.
- third place overall / unarmed division
- 2nd place color guard, led by Alexa Ortiz-Juarez
- Esteban Santiago Stricler earned 3rd unarmed drill
- Knockout: 4th, Thomas Owen; 9th, Garcia; 10th, Lester
Jan. 17 - drill and color guard competition at Springfield High School in Holland, Ohio
- 1st place color guard, led by Lilly Carter
- 1st place - solo armed exhibition - John Lloyd
- 3rd place - duet armed exhibition - John Lloyd and Thomas Owen
- 3rd place - armed squad, led by Justin Peters
- Knockout - 6th, Justin Peters